


There's more to Love than Red Roses

by rookie_musicbox



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Florist Hui, Florist Hyunggu, Florist Yanan, Florist! Au, Flowers uwu, M/M, Office Worker Yuto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-04 11:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16345640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rookie_musicbox/pseuds/rookie_musicbox
Summary: Hyunggu is in love with the taken Japanese guy who buys roses everyday.





	There's more to Love than Red Roses

Kang Hyunggu knew better than to fall for a customer who came into the humble flower shop he worked at every day at 8:30am without fail. Especially a tall good-looking foreigner (definitely Japanese) who bought a single stem of red rose every day. For a girlfriend, maybe.

It was cute, Hyunggu thought as the male returned each day just to purchase a red rose. Some days, he bought two. But it’s mostly one. It came to a point where Hyunggu had a red rose prepared for him on the counter to make it easier for him.

He never knew the customer’s name but there was a familiarity between them as they greeted each other every morning. Went on for months and it was a routine that never went off. Every morning, 8:30 am, the tall Japanese dude will enter the shop for his roses and Hyunggu falling for him every single morning.

“Lover boy is back,” Hui tapped Hyunggu’s shoulder and the younger immediately rushed to the counter with a bright smile on his face. The older sighed and shook his head, an amused smile on his face as Hyunggu accepted the money from the Japanese. As usual, Hyunggu waved goodbye to him enthusiastically as the man waved back with a tiny one of his own.

“Why do you like him so much? You both never talked to each other, other than the good mornings and stuff. And he’s most probably taken if it isn’t clear enough,” Yanan mentioned as he watched the Japanese leave.

Hyunggu pouted and swatted the Chinese’s arm with a dirty rag. “Mind your own business, hyung,” he huffed as he went to the back of the shop. But he couldn’t deny the fact that Yanan was right. And who knows, the guy was straight? Giving a sad sigh, he did his daily task of watering the gardenias. Flowers had always cheered him up even with situations like this no matter what.

~~~

It was an extremely busy day. Some wedding planner had asked for 40 flower arrangements at the last minute and the flower shop had to close in order to concentrate on making the flowers. Hui was absolutely grumpy with the sudden orders so Hyunggu and Yanan stayed out of his way and did as he asked obediently.

Unaware of the close sign, the Japanese entered, making the familiar tinkle of the bell. Hyunggu looked up with a ready apologetic smile. “Oh, sorry. We’re closed today,” he apologised. The Japanese raised an eyebrow before frowning.

“I’ve never once seen you guys close your shop,” he spoke in his deep voice. Hyunggu liked his voice, deep and rumbly but it wasn’t the time to squeal over his vocal chords at the time. He gave an awkward chuckle as he tied the arrangement with a ribbon.

“Yeah but at times like this, we really need to. Someone ordered 40 flower arrangements needed by tomorrow morning, so we don’t really have a choice,” he sighed as he set the arrangement to the side where five other similar arrangements sat.

The guy nodded. Hyunggu offered a smile. “Sorry. I’ll give you a rose for free and you can go see your girlfriend,” he said as he rushed to the back where they kept the roses.

“Boyfriend, really,” the Japanese muttered as he accepted the rose. Hyunggu’s heart fell at the confirmation that he was taken but kept his cute smile anyways. It was to be expected that an extremely handsome guy like him would have a boyfriend. The Japanese stared at Hyunggu a bit longer, making the shorter wonder if he had anything on his face. Oh God, that would be embarrassing. 

The Japanese smiled. “I’ve been coming here for months and yet we don’t really know each other’s names. And this is probably the first time we had a decent conversation,” he commented. Hyunggu laughed in agreement. “I’m Adachi Yuto. Call me Yuto,” Yuto extended his hand for a handshake.

“Kang Hyunggu,” Hyunggu said as he shook Yuto’s hand. His hand was much larger and more calloused than Hyunggu’s smooth one, but they fitted perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. Hyunggu couldn’t swallow the butterflies threatening to fly out of his mouth as Yuto shook his hand firmly. He wanted to hold Yuto’s hand forever and ever.

However, as much as he wanted that, Hyunggu was reminded that he had many tasks to do. And Yuto had a boyfriend to go to. He waved to Yuto goodbye and returned to work with mixed feelings.

~~~

Yuto came by often and ever since that day, there were more conversations and light-hearted banter between them. Hyunggu never failed to have a red rose prepared for him although it gave him a sort of temporary sadness.

Kang Hyunggu was not the epitome of sadness, so he brushed off the feeling and concentrated on his talks with Yuto. Yuto was delightful. He crafted out carefully thought responses, was respectful and seemed very devoted to anything of his interest. His boyfriend included. He worked at some fancy office which explained the ability to buy roses every day. He even admitted being scared of the dark and ghost movies which Hyunggu found endearing. 

He was falling very much quickly in love with Adachi Yuto and there’s nothing he could do about it.

“If you’re not careful, you’re going to get your heart broken,” Yanan warned after the duo watch Yuto leave. 

“Let the boy dream, love,” Changgu, Yanan’s boyfriend who dropped by often, laughed as he ruffled the taller’s hair. Yanan gave an annoyed grunt as he smoothed down the mess Changgu made and kicked his boyfriend’s leg lightly. Changgu grinned and pressed a quick kiss onto Yanan’s lips before running out of the store to get to his workplace (a cute kindergarten) on time. Hyunggu could only sigh enviously at the sweet sight of the two boyfriends. He wished that that could happen to him to. Especially with a certain Japanese named Adachi Yuto.

~~~

Yuto appeared at the counter with a worried frown which Hyunggu took note of immediately. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked as he placed the rose on the counter top. Yuto looked hesitant before shaking his head.

“Can I have a bouquet today? The biggest you can find,” he asked. Hyunggu gave a deep frown. It was unusual for Yuto to buy a bouquet. Even during Valentine’s Day, he merely bought three stems. Trouble in paradise, maybe? 

Hyunggu didn’t pry. Instead, he rang up the price and accepted the card Yuto gave. The bouquet was freakishly expensive and since Yuto had been a long-time regular, he marked down the price. Without glancing so much at the receipt, Yuto grabbed the bouquet of red roses and dashed towards his office without sparing Hyunggu a glance. The shorter gave a tiny wave even though the Japanese did not notice.

Hyunggu sighed and began to wipe down the counter to get rid of the soil left from a previous customer. Yanan gave him a pitying glance but went back to trimming one of the plants. Whatever problems Yuto had with his boyfriend, it wasn’t his concern.

~~~

Yuto didn’t return the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that too. Hyunggu waited from morning till night for Yuto, a red rose of the counter, waiting for the Japanese. At 8:30am, he would look up, hoping to hear the tinkling bell and the expectant smile on Yuto’s face. But there never was.

Hyunggu was never the epitome of sadness but the air around the flower shop got pretty depressing as the days passed without Yuto turning up to buy red roses. Yanan was surprised that the plants hadn’t wilted yet from all the sad energy going around. But he remained an understanding friend, shooing the protesting Changgu away when he came to visit. Hui gave him sympathetic pats on his shoulder each time Yuto didn’t turn up.

Yanan stared at Hyunggu who seemed to be in a daze as he wiped the same spot on the counter top for a few minutes. A cute couple had entered the store previously and the guy had picked a single red rose for his partner. The Chinese sighed as he shook the kid out of his stupor. “I told you to be careful,” he muttered as he took the rag from Hyunggu’s hands gently before hugging the younger.

Hyunggu crumbled against Yanan’s chest as he started to sob. Yanan stroke his hair as he let him soak his apron. It was dirty but Hyunggu didn’t care as he clutched Yanan tightly. Poor child, Yanan thought as he continued to comfort the younger, wiping away the dirt stain on the kid’s cheek.

~~~

Hyunggu’s jaw dropped when he saw who entered the store. Yuto. His Yuto. But the Yuto in front of him looked tired and worn, black circles under his eyes and when was the last time he shaved? He had a large bruise on his cheek and a cut on his lips. But he still had that adorable smile and gentle eyes.

“You look like shit,” was the first words from Hyunggu’s mouth. Yuto gave a soft laugh as he run a hand through his hair. Hyunggu looked embarrassed and mortified by the words he said as he covered his red face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…,” he flustered. “I’ll go get your rose.

“It’s fine,” Yuto said as he slid into a chair placed at the side of the counter. “I’m not planning on buying a rose today,” he sighed as he slumped in his seat. Hyunggu stopped and gave him a worried look, hands fiddling together.

There was a sort of uncomfortable silence between them. Thankfully, it was a slow day and there weren’t any customers. Yanan was out sick and Hui had an errand to run. Hyunggu wanted to ask if Yuto was alright and Yuto tried not to look at the roses set on display. “Are you… alright?” Hyunggu whispered.

Yuto shrugged. Hyunggu approached the Japanese and cupped his face, swiping his thumb onto the cut. Yuto’s eyes shimmered as he stared into Hyunggu’s. “Have you got this treated?” the shorter asked. Yuto nodded and Hyunggu dropped his hands, face burning even red at his recklessly sudden actions. Yuto coughed and looked away.

Hyunggu dragged another chair and sat on it, careful to not touch Yuto unless he reached out first. “What happened? You just… I don’t know, stop coming,” he asked. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me. I don’t mean to pry.”

Yuto chuckled a bit too sadly and Hyunggu’s heart ached for him. “My boyfriend and I uh… We… broke up,” he answered. Pain was clearly evident in his eyes and Hyunggu’s heart nearly broke. 

He didn’t know what to say. Should he say, “I’m sorry?” But for what? Should he comfort him? Hyunggu raised his hand but dropped it, finding it a bit too awkward to hug someone he barely knew. “And the bruises?” he asked, throat dry.

Yuto shrug. “Got drunk couple times, got into drunken fights every time. Got jailed for a day until my boyfriend – I mean ex-boyfriend called a friend to get me out. And then said-friend proceeded to punch me for being stupid,” he gave a dry, bitter laugh.

Hyunggu wanted to throw up from all the guilt he had. While he was sad over Yuto not appearing at the store, the Japanese was suffering from a major heartache with no one to lean on. Hyunggu bit his lips before deciding to pull Yuto into a hug.

He felt Yuto tense up and he wondered if he was doing the right thing until he felt the large, warm hands of his clutch the back of his T-shirt tightly as if he didn’t want to let go. The older male shook against him, weeping quietly as he pressed his face into Hyunggu’s neck. And they stayed that way until he calmed down.

“I’m sorry,” he sniffed, wiping away his tears. Hyunggu shook his head with a small smile.

“Don’t apologise. You’re just being human,” he said as he searched for some tissues behind the counter and offering them to Yuto who accepted them gratefully. Yuto still looked miserable but a bit relieved somehow and Hyunggu was determined to make him forget his ex. 

And what better way than giving him something that always made sweet Kang Hyunggu happy? “Wait here,” he said excitedly as he zoomed around the little flower shop, grabbing seemingly random flowers (in Yuto’s perspective) and placing them on the counter table.

“What are those?” he asked curiously as he turned to watch Hyunggu pull out some ribbons and a pair of scissors. Hyunggu hummed as he picked up a yellow flower which Yuto obviously recognised as a sunflower.

“A cheer up bouquet,” Hyunggu said brightly as he set to work on making the bouquet. Yuto watched as Hyunggu assembled bright coloured tulips, fragrant jasmines, exotic orchids and a couple of hibiscus, red lilies and violets before using some light pink and white paper to form into a pretty bouquet. “It isn’t nice since I did it in a rush, but I hope these would cheer you up,” Hyunggu smiled hopefully as he placed the bouquet into Yuto’s arms.

Yuto looked at the arrangement before looking at Hyunggu. The younger boy could feel his heart swelling with happiness when he saw the tiny smile on Yuto’s face. “Thank you. It’s beautiful enough,” he murmured, hugging it close to him to smell them.

Hyunggu smiled fondly as he played with the bits of remaining flowers. “To be honest, I really missed you,” he said quietly, shyly looking away when Yuto looked at him. Yuto reached out the touch his hand lightly.

“Then I’ll come by everyday to have a quick chat with you then. Like old times?” he laughed softly. Hyunggu held back a blush as he nodded enthusiastically. Yeah, like old times.  
Yuto left and Hyunggu did his best to not squeal but who was he to suppress his joy. Hui nearly dropped his folder of orders when he walked in to have Hyunggu tackling him into an ecstatic hug.

~~~

Yuto kept his promise. Yanan was surprised to see him but nonetheless gave him a friendly pat on his back before greeting the customer that came behind the Japanese. Hyunggu was always thrilled to see him, chattering happily away and everything felt right again.

It was clear that Yuto was getting better and pretty much soon, he forgot about his ex-boyfriend. Not when a cute florist was constantly waiting for him excitedly to tell him about his day and to hear his, providing comfort on bad days and celebrating with him on the good.

Yuto visited the flower shop again but stayed longer than usual, which was surprising, considering he had never skipped worked before. When Hyunggu pointed out the time, he waved it off with a smile. “I asked for a day off,” he replied as he twisted in the swivel stool, staring at Hyunggu. Hyunggu didn’t tell him but he felt his heart thunder a bit too loudly for his liking.

“Then you should make yourself useful then,” Hyunggu pushed him off his chair, making the Japanese laugh as he hopped away. Yuto took the spare apron they had and put it on, much to the young florist’s bewilderment. “What are you doing?”

“Making myself useful,” came the answer. Hyunggu had to admit that the smirk Yuto gave made him nearly faint but he couldn’t help but give a wide grin as he stepped away from the counter to help him tie his apron. “What should I do, Mr Kang?” Yuto winked.

Hyunggu slapped Yuto’s arm in embarrassment but pointed to a row of yellow tulips. “Water those plants,” he said simply before turning to grab some scissors to trim some flowers. Yuto gave a salute before going on a search for a watering can.

Hui would say that it was Hyunggu’s most unproductive day since the younger started working at his flower shop, but he couldn’t complain. Not when the boy kept staring at Yuto with that love-struck expression while the taller of the two reached up to grab a spare pot to replace the other that had fallen a few minutes before. It was cute, he had to admit.  
Changgu was sick so Yanan asked to leave work early to care for his whiny boyfriend. Hui had another errand to run, leaving Hyunggu and Yuto to man the store themselves. There were hardly any customers and most of their tasks were done. Hyunggu busied himself with cataloguing the flower orders, jotting down notes while Yuto peered at the little pot of purple flowers.

“What’s your favourite flower?” Yuto asked randomly as Hyunggu slotted an order into its correct place. 

“Violets,” came the answer. Yuto tilted his head and Hyunggu pointed to the said flowers. “The one you’re looking at. Violets. Purple ones specifically,” he smiled. The Japanese nodded as he touched the violets lightly.

“Why?”

Hyunggu hummed as he set his pen down so he could look at Yuto properly. There was a curious spark in the foreigner’s eyes as he waited for the answer. “When you receive purple violets, the giver would mean that his thoughts are occupied with love. For you. It’s romantic,” Hyunggu explained. “So, if you want to add more flair to your rose bouquet, add some purple violets,” he teased.

Yuto looked intrigued as he sat back onto the stool, placed in front of the counter to look at Hyunggu closer. The shorter male blush under the strange stare from Yuto. “Interesting. Tell me more!” he almost demanded childishly, making Hyunggu giggle.

“Well, if you wanna send someone a love bouquet, we do recommend some asters,” the florist smiled as he got off his stool to stroll to the back of the store. Yuto followed suit and watched as Hyunggu cut out a bunch of the said flowers. “They’re a ‘talisman’ or symbol of love and usually associated with Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love.”  
He then headed to another section of the shop where the roses were laid out. “Blue roses are really rare. The rarest among the roses so we usually dye them,” Hyunggu sighed wistfully as he bent down to cut the dyed blue roses. “It’s mysterious and usually means love at first sight. In terms of roses, the rarer the rose colour, the more uhm… important one is to you.” 

Yuto nodded solemnly as he took note of the flowers mentally. Hyunggu stopped at the selection of finely-grown tulips and like the other two flower types before, took out some red tulips. “Red tulips carry the sentiment of a promise of love that will never grow old. Purple tulips represent mature and eternal love,” he explained as he brushed his hand over the purple tulips but didn’t pluck them out.

As Hyunggu grabbed the flowers and explaining the meanings of them to Yuto, he went back to the counter where he brought out papers and tapes. He began to assemble the flowers into a colourful bouquet under the watchful and amazed eyes of Yuto.

Hyunggu looked proud of his work even if it was done without planning. He set the bouquet aside and smiled up at Yuto. “And that’s a great bouquet rather than boring old bunch of red roses,” he said smugly. Yuto chuckled.

“Yeah. Maybe I should do that next time,” he hummed. Hyunggu didn’t know how to react to that so he returned to cataloguing the orders. He could feel Yuto’s heavy gaze on him as he worked, and he wished that his heart could stop beating so fast. 

~~~

Sundays meant that the flower shop operated for half a day. That’s when Hyunggu would stay at home and maybe binge watch old completed dramas and eat a whole tub of ice-cream. He was used to it, staying home alone without any human interaction. He never liked going out and his friends learned that it was useless asking him to hang out and do things. Sure, Hyunggu could hardly sit still while at work but doing so much work 82 hours a week could get tiring.

It was Harry Potter that day. Jinho had leant him all the DVDs and he planned to finish the last movie until his phone rang. It was unusual since all his friends had already given up on inviting him out. Well, except one.

Adachi Yuto.

Hyunggu usually ignored calls when watching a movie but he couldn’t help answering the call when he saw the ID. “Hey! What’s up?” he said breathlessly and a little to excitedly. Yuto never called, preferring to text but who was he to care?

Yuto’s laugh that Hyunggu loved made his heart melt. “Hey. I was wondering if we should hang out? I have something to tell you,” he asked. Hyunggu stumbled over his words, extremely flustered at the sudden invitation and agreed. Yuto told him to meet at the Han river where he spent his Sundays often.

Hyunggu nearly tripped over his two feet as he rushed to change into more decent clothes. He considered making his hair neater, but the time limit only allowed him to throw on a clean hoodie and tug on a pair of jeans he had lying around. He jogged all the way to his destination, grateful that it wasn’t a hot day out so there was little sweat when he arrived.  
There were lots of people at the river bank, having picnics, exercising and what not. Hyunggu searched for the taller male. How hard could it be to find a tall Japanese with God-like features? 

Easy enough.

Hyunggu felt his breath being knocked out when he saw Yuto standing at the edge on the river bank, a peaceful smile on his face. The sun hit on his skin perfectly, giving his tan an ethereal glow and Hyunggu couldn’t help but stare at him a bit longer.

“Yuto!” he called out as he moved down the river bank. Yuto grinned wider when he saw Hyunggu, his eyes lit up as he walked towards the shorter with long strides.

“Hey,” he greeted quietly, staring down at Hyunggu whose smile did not once fade. He couldn’t deny that Kang Hyunggu was the most adorable human being he had seen. “I got us chicken,” he lifted up a plastic bag filled with said food and Hyunggu’s heart fluttered again.

The chickens were delicious, and the duo watched the other citizens of Seoul move about as they sat on the picnic blanket Yuto brought, a can of coke in their hands. “So, what did you want to tell me?” Hyunggu asked. Yuto hummed for a moment before turning to look at Hyunggu.

“Well… I think…,” Yuto started, biting his lips for a bit before scooting closer. Hyunggu felt a blush rising from his neck at the close proximity between them. He tried not to show his nervousness as he waited for Yuto to continue. “I think I’m in love with someone.”

Hyunggu looked stunned. His heart felt like breaking as he forced a smile on his face. “Really? Who?” he said, trying not to let his voice shake as he waited for the answer. Yuto smiled shyly as he twiddled his fingers.

“It’s a secret. But I’m in love with him. And I plan to tell him tomorrow,” he said quietly. Hyunggu looked down and took a deep breath. 

“Then, I wish you good luck?” he asked. Yuto grinned and hugged him.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Yuto laughed giddily. Hyunggu buried his face into Yuto’s neck, trying not to cry and burst out that he liked Yuto. Loved him, even. But Hyunggu was not the person who brought sadness. Instead, he accepted the fact and patted Yuto’s back in encouragement.  
If Yuto’s happy, he just had to suck it up.

~~~

Hyunggu called in sick. He never called in sick before but his raw throat from all the crying he did the night before made it very convincing and Hui allowed him. He locked himself in his room, trying not to think about how happy Yuto would be with someone else. Someone that wasn’t Hyunggu.

The apartment was silent and lonely as he stared up at the ceiling, heart empty and tears used up. He was about to go back to sleep when his doorbell rang. He sat up in bed, extremely confused and slightly scared. Who could be ringing his doorbell when all his friends were at work?

A daylight serial killer?

Hyunggu grabbed a bat he somewhat had as he approached his door. He cursed at the fact that he didn’t have a spyhole to see who it was. Should he answer or not? The doorbell rang again, this time insistently and Hyunggu opened the door to face with a bunch of flowers. He was going to die looking at his favourite things.

“Hey Hyunggu!” Yuto chirped from behind the bouquet. Hyunggu casted a bewildered look at the Japanese male who looked way too happy. Did he confess already? “I heard you were sick, so I came over after asking Hui hyung for your address,” he said.

Hyunggu still had that lost look as he let Yuto in. “What are you doing here?” he asked. Yuto smiled and shoved the flowers into Hyunggu’s arms. The shorter male looked at the gift in awe as Yuto bounced on his feet nervously. “What’s this for?”

Yuto cleared his throat and he looked flustered. The blush coloured his whole face as he clasped his hands behind his back. “I wanted to confess to you when I see you at work but Hui hyung told me you were sick. So, I came over with some flowers. I’m sorry I didn’t get you a get-well bouquet,” he mumbled meekly.

Hyunggu looked at the flowers, lips moving but not a sound. Eventually he managed to squeak out. “For me?” he asked carefully. Yuto nodded and stared at him with that puppy-like smile. There was no hesitation when Hyunggu dropped the flowers and latched onto the Japanese male to pull him into a sweet kiss.

Yuto returned the kiss with a shy one of his own, arms wrapping around Hyunggu’s smaller waist and tugged him closer. Hyunggu couldn’t stop his heart from thundering too much and he didn’t want it to stop. When Yuto pulled away, Hyunggu giggled, burying his face into Yuto’s chest. He could hear the similar fast thumping from Yuto’s heart.

Yuto cleared his throat, making Hyunggu look up. “I spent some time making that bouquet before coming over,” he admitted, rubbing his nose. Hyunggu stepped back to pick up the bouquet, looking embarrassed. There were asters, tulips, and all the flowers Hyunggu told him about and right in the middle of the assemble was a single red rose, surrounded by purple violets, Hyunggu’s favourite. 

“It’s beautiful,” Hyunggu whispered. Yuto laughed warmly before pulling him into another tight hug and pressing a soft kiss on his head.

“Not as beautiful as you,” he mumbled. Hyunggu snorted and Yuto kissed him again before he could say anything. 

Yeah, there’s more to love than red roses and that was loving Kang Hyunggu with all of Adachi Yuto’s heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Yuki is life. Nuff said.


End file.
